Love and Hate
by apergis
Summary: It's funny how quick bravery can turn into fear, unawareness of another's existence turn into friendship, or hatred turn into love
1. Trying to Understand

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Hey, apergis here. Just another story I cooked up. I've been having MAJOR writer's block lately, and I'm OCD about the smallest things in my writing. I'm sure you other writers understand. Well alright, hope you enjoy this and please don't be too harsh in the reviews.

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><p>No one ever stood in Kushina Uzumaki's way. At least...that's what she thought until she met <em>him. <em>Somehow, some way, Minato Namikaze always found a way to ruin Kushina's day. Kushina had graduated a year earlier than usual from the Shinobi Academy to become a Genin; Minato graduated three years earlier. She had aced nearly every test in the Academy, while Minato had aced _all of them._

Then he had gotten Jiraya for a sensei, one of the Legendary Sannin. No doubt he was learning all kinds of sweet techniques, things she may never learn. Whenever she saw Minato over the next few months, Jiraiya-sama had been close behind, always teaching and guiding. She had been...annoyed by their relationship. She didn't want to use the word "jealous".

She had breezed her way through the Chuunin exams, carrying her team through every challenge that came before them, only to be easily defeated by a quiet kid with yellow hair. And what pissed her off even more was that he had basically carried her off the battlefield and told her she had fought hard and should be proud. _Proud of what? Give me a fucking break._

When the time came for her to be promoted to Jonin, she was ecstatic. None of her peers that she had grown up with were even close to reaching that level of responsibility. All except one. Fucking Minato. She saw him very few times after she reached Jonin, and that was fine with her. Every time he spoke to her, she had the strong impulse to deck him square in the face. Maybe because he was so ridiculously polite all the time. What was the word she had used to describe him once? Flaky. Yeah, that was it. He was a total flake. A flake that was better than her at virtually everything.

And now, as she sat in the first war meeting of the month, she realized she was glaring at him from across the table. She looked away quickly, thanking everything that is holy that he hadn't noticed. But had anyone else? She looked around the table quickly at all the other important Jonin that the Hokage had deemed fit to call to this meeting. Everyone seemed to be looking at the Hokage, who was sitting on the end of the table, listening intently to what he was saying. _Shit...I should probably be doing that. God...I gotta get outta here._

Kushina had been sure about one thing her entire life...and one thing in particular. She had severe ADD, or attention deficit disorder. Her talent as a shinobi usually made up for it, but it was real bitch getting through long briefings without her mind wandering in a hundred different directions. At the moment though, it was only going in one direction, and that was enough to cause her to tune out everything the Hokage was saying. Fucking Minato Namikaze, and her hatred for everything that he did and said. His name from the Hokage's mouth jerked her attention to the old man for a moment.

"Minato, I'll need you to take your Genin squad into Iwagakure territory and oversee the destruction of the Kannabi Bridge. That'll cut off a major supply line for our enemies. There'll be some resistance, but I know you can handle it. There's no one I would trust more to look after a team of Genin." The Third said, earning a smooth nod from Minato.

"There won't be any resistance if all the enemies run away like last time." Shikaku Nara said, earning a few laughs around the table. Kushina rolled her eyes and remained silent.

Shikaku thoroughly annoyed Kushina. She had never met someone who was so lazy but still managed to succeed at most everything they tried. The fact that Shikaku could slack off and still be an elite Jonin, while she had to work hard to maintain it, pissed her off. Of course, she would never let him know that. Plus, he had been one of the leaders in what Kushina called "make fun of Kushina because she has funny-colored hair campaign" back in their Academy years. They were all too old for such jokes now, but Kushina was still self-conscious of her hair beacuse of all those times.

"Alright, I'm sure everyone knows what they have to do. If you have any questions, you all know where to find me. Things are stacked against us right now, as much as I don't like to admit it. We're fighting a war on two different fronts and trying to save our allies in the process. I want you all to know before you leave that I have supreme confidence in everyone in this room. Thank you for coming and godspeed." The Third said, approving nods and words of approval from many of the Jonin in the room.

Kushina stood up and stretched, yawning as she did so. Chairs were pushed out from the table and one by one, the elite Jonin of the village filed out of the conference room. Soon the room was filled with conversation of Jonin who hadn't seen each other in months because missions kept them apart, or just friends who hadn't left yet, She was about to leave when Fugaku Uchiha approached her.

"Hey...Uzumaki, you're looking good as usual. What's up?"

"The usual shit. You need something?"

"I was just gonna ask if you wanted to grab some dinner with me tonight. I'm buying." Fugaku said, obviously trying to be as smooth as possible.

"I think I'll pass. I got some stuff to do tonight." Kushina said, hoping he believed her. Her night was completely free as far as she knew, she just didn't feel like going out, especially with a stuck-up Uchiha that would probably try to get her drunk and take advantage of her. She had heard stories about Fugaku and his womanizing ways.

"Suit yourself. I got another girl to go with anyway." He said, crossing his arms and giving her a confident look.

"Have fun with that." Kushina said, turning and starting toward the door with a quickness.

"Oh I will. You're gonna miss out on the fun tonight, sweetheart. I'd love to get a sexy little thing like you, but I heard you were a cold fish...from a few people, actually." Fugaku said cockily, causing heads in the room to turn and look at him in surprise. Kushina's cheeks started to burn, from both anger and embarassment. She spun around and squared up to the black-haired Uchiha, ready to kick ass if need be.

"You better watch your damn mouth. I'm not one of your whores that you can just say whatever you want to, and I never will be. Now fuck off, dirtbag." Kushina said, mouth flowing in her anger. It occured to her that the entire Uchiha clan would probably be out to kill her now that she had talked to one of their most prized members like that, but she really couldn't bring herself to give a shit.

"I'd be careful, Uzumaki. Wouldn't want anything to happen to that pretty face of yours. You piss off the wrong people, and bad things could happen. Very bad things."

"How about I do some bad things to you right now. You and your Sharingan don't scare me. It's not gonna stop me from beating your face in." Kushina said, her blood boiling. She was definitely hoping he'd throw the first punch. She had always wanted to pound on one of those cocky Uchiha, thinking they're better than everyone else.

"Both of you, calm down now."

Kushina turned to see who had spoken and was shocked to see Minato standing there, looking from her to Fugaku and back again. His cold blue eyes rested on her, and she froze in place for a moment. Just when she was ready to speak, Fugaku spoke first.

"How about you keep your nose out of this, Namikaze?" Fugaku said, staring down the blonde-haired Jonin. But Kushina heard something else in the Uchiha's tone...hesitation perhaps? He had sounded like he didn't want to say anything to Minato at all.

"Hey, you keep talking to Minato that way and I'll beat your ass! He deserves more respect from a punk like you!"

Kushina froze...her mind taking in what just spilled out of her mouth. She looked from Minato to Fugaku what seemed like ten times, both men looking at her, before she turned and ran from the room. A few people tried to stop her on her way out, people she recognized as friends, and she thought she heard Minato yell her name, but she paid no heed. Within minutes she was out of the council building and running down the street towards her apartment building.

She stopped outside her front door and sat on the top step of the stairs leading up to her porch. _What the fuck? Was I just defending my worst enemy? What the hell is going on? _She had raised her voice in Minato's defense, when Fugaku had told him to mind his own business. The Uchiha was right, even if he was a dirtbag. That argument was between her and Fugaku, Minato shouldn't have butt in, but the words had just popped right out. _And then I just ran out...like some sort of coward! They all probably think I'm a complete idiot!_

"Are you alright, Kushina?"

Kushina nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice from the foot of her stairs. She looked up, ready to explain that she was perfectly fine, when she saw it was Minato standing there, looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face. In all the time she had known him, he never let his emotions show on his face, and he was very good at it. She tried not to let her utter surprise show, but she knew she was failing miserably. She decided to resort to her usual means of defense in these sort of situations.

"I'm fine blondie. Go bother someone else, I'm busy." Even though she clearly was not. It occured to her that she had reprimanded Fugaku for speaking to Minato the same way she just did.

"You don't look very busy to me." Minato said with an amused smirk.

"Well I am dammit! What's it to you anyway, Namikaze? Why do you have to stick your nose into everything for?" Kushina asked, perhaps more angrily than she had intended, but her mind was still racing over what had happened just moments before.

"Because we're going to be working together on my next mission. I needed to talk to you. The Hokage didn't bring it up at the meeting and he was going to tell you before you...well...you ran out."

"WHAT? The Hokage is making me work with...you?" Kushina asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

"Hell yeah there's a problem! In case you haven't noticed, _Namikaze, _I don't like you. And I probably never will. So, you're gonna have to tell the Hokage to find someone else to go with you, because this just isn't going to work out...are you even listening to me?" The entire time she was talking, he just stood there and stared at her, an unreadable expression covering his face. He didn't respond for a few seconds, and suddenly he turned and started to walk away.

"Hey...where you goin'? Don't just walk away when I'm talking to you!" She said, about to go after him when he turned his head slightly and said...

"Tomorrow morning. The front gate to the village. Bring plenty of supplies and ninja gear."

"I told you already! I'm not going! Find someone else!"

"See you tomorrow, Kushina." And with that he was around the corner and out of sight.

She nearly collapsed on the steps in front of her own home. _How do I always get into these kind of situations?_


	2. Leaving

Chapter 2 is finally out! w00t! Sorry if it took awhile. been a bit busy for work. I'm gonna try to update one more time before next week because I'm going to Germany for awhile on business, and probably won't have access to internet very much.

I hope you liked chapter 2. I'm just trying to kick things off right now. Rest assured it's about to get very interesting!

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><p>For her entire life, Kushina could not think of a time she hadn't hungered for...something more. She wanted more than to be a normal shinobi, she wanted to be above the rank and file. She wasn't a prodigy by any means, definitely not a genius, and she didn't pick up techniques faster than any of her peers. There was one thing that separated Kushina from almost every shinobi in the village. Heart. Her father had once told her that she had the heart of a lion.<p>

Looking back on that, she had to agree with him. She had lost count of how many times she had pushed her body to the limit in training, how many times she had pushed her opponents past their breaking point. She simply refused to give in, refused to lose in any situation that was put before her. And she _hated_ when people tried to help her, like she was some sort of invalid. The surest way to get on Kushina Uzumaki's bad side was to treat her like a child.

But however much heart and drive to succeed she had inside of her, Minato was still her superior, and she had no idea why. There was something extra there...something she couldn't put her finger on, couldn't pinpoint. He had something that she didn't have...and she was dying to know what it was. _What am I thinking? In a few years I'll surpass him and I won't have to worry about it anymore. _At least she told herself that, and wanted so badly to believe it. But what was with him anyway? She never saw him training. For all she knew, he just stood around looking cool all day.

So when Minato left last night, she had thought about the mission for hours. She had come to the conclusion that it was a great opportunity to finally show him up at something. If she managed to be the hero in this mission, she'll have showed him that she is a force to be reckoned with, that Kushina Uzumaki is no laughing matter, and be one step closer to finally being his equal, as well as the best Jonin in the village.

She had been sitting against the wall on the side of Konoha's north gate, her brain full of such thoughts, for nearly half an hour before Minato finally showed up, carrying a backpack with a sleeping bag and ground pad secured to the top of it.

"I'm not here because you told me I had to go. I'm coming because I want to for my own reasons." Kushina said, standing up, crossing her arms, and fixing him with a glare.

"Fair enough. Either way, the mission has to get done." Minato said, ignoring her glare and setting his backpack on the ground, He unzipped it and began looking through its contents.

"What exactly are we doing, anyway?" Kushina asked, curious when Minato pulled out a map and laid it on the ground.

Minato proceeded to lay out the entire mission to her. It wasn't all that complicated, but it was definitely dangerous. She knew now why the Third had picked her for this mission. They would probably see some combat, and Kushina had always done well in combat. Apparently, some Leaf and Grass shinobi had been sent to reinforce a small village on the border between Kusagakure's lands and Iwagakure's lands, and large numbers of Rock shinobi had surrounded the entire village and have everyone trapped. They wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. She and Minato were tasked with reaching the village and helping the allied forces there defeat the enemy, as well as make sure the village is safe and undamaged.

The mission outline gave the number of enemy shinobi, the number of allied shinobi, the number of civilians in the village, and projected enemy troop positions.

"Any questions?" Minato asked, looking from the map to her.

"Yeah, one question. How the hell do they expect us to beat all these guys? There's like...what? A hundred of them?" Kushina asked, thoroughly convinced that someone had fucked up something in this whole business.

"We'll figure that out when we get there." Minato said calmly, starting to walk towards the gate.

"...are you kidding me? I don't care if you are the Yellow Flash...this mission sounds fucking crazy! Is the Hokage trying to get us killed?" She exclaimed as Minato walked away.

"Listen Kushina..." Minato said, turning around and looking at her calmly. "The Third isn't stupid. He assigned this mission to us because he knows we are capable of doing it. I'm not leading you to your death. We'll have allied shinobi fighting beside us. They just need two seasoned fighters like us to...bring the whole thing together. Just relax and follow my lead and you'll be just fine."

Kushina's brain was trying to comprehend exactly what was going on right now. She was leaving on what seemed like a suicide mission with Minato, whom she couldn't stand to be around, and he was telling her everything would be fine. But...he seemed so confident, so sure of himself. He hadn't even hesitated when he said not to worry.

"I don't know what you're planning Namikaze...but if it gets me killed, I'm coming back to haunt your ass for the rest of your life."

"No one is going to get killed. We're both coming home from this. If everything goes according to plan, we should be back in the village within a few days, if not earlier."

Kushina was in the process of formulating a reply when all of a sudden something or someone sped past her, nearly knocked her over, and headed straight for Minato. She was still trying to get a good look at whoever it was that nearly bowled her over when Minato just...disappeared. There was no other way to explain it. He was there one second, and the next he was gone. _Was that his Shunshin? I must have missed it..._

"Minato-kun, where are you? Where have you gone?"

Kushina looked at the source of the voice and realized that this person was the one who had bumped into her. The girl couldn't have been any older than eighteen, maybe even younger. She looked as though she was trying to look in every direction at once, searching for something. Finally, her eyes rested on Kushina, lighting up with hope, and she practically stumbled over to her. Kushina drew one conclusion from the look on the girl's face; she was batshit crazy.

"Hey, you there! You were just talking to Minato-kun a second ago. Did you see where he went? Please! I have to find him!"

Kushina gave her a look similiar to what she would give a bug when getting ready to squash it. "No. Now get the hell outta my face before I break your nose." The girl backed up slowly, looking terrified.

"I need to find Minato. Minato...please! I need you! My heart aches for you! Without your sweet love, I will die and wither away like a plant without water! You are the sun in my sky, you are EVERYTHING! MINATOOOOOOOOOO!"

"...what the hell?"

Kushina turned slowly to look upon a large group of what seemed to be all women coming towards her. _Oh shit...this lunatic brought friends._

"Minato! Come out and play with us!

"Come on sexy man! You can't keep us waiting all day!"

The large group of women passed right by Kushina and the young girl and back into the village, running and leaping over everything in their path and causing innocent bystanders to jump out of the way to avoid being crushed. She looked after them in awe...and her mind finally processed what was going on. _Those are...Minato's fangirls?...what? _The girl standing in front of her sped off after them, the crazed look still in her eye.

"You ready to go Kushina?"

Kushina spun around to see Minato standing there. He took a quick glance at the stampede that was running down the main street of Konoha in the opposite direction, and looked back to her, waiting for her response. For a minute she just looked at him in disbelief.

"...What the hell just happened?"

"I have a hard time putting that together myself. Let's get out of here before they come back." Minato said, setting off once again towards the front gate. Kushina, on the other hand, was not ready to leave. She was chock full of questions for blondie here.

"Were those your fangirls? Do they always follow you around? Where the hell did you go just now?"

"OK, first of all, one question at a time. Secondly...yes...they were fangirls. I've been avoiding them for months. We should get going before they decide to come back." Minato said, looking around warily.

Kushina continued to stare at Minato in disbelief. "You're telling me...that you have a mob of girls that constantly follow you around trying to capture you and do god knows what?"

"...yeah. I mean...yeah, that's about right. I mean, I don't know exactly what they'd do if they caught me, but I don't imagine it being very enjoyable for me...what's that look for?"

"I just think it's completely ridiculous that all those girls would have a thing for a girly man like you." Kushina said.

"A girly man? What are you talking about?" Minato asked, confused.

"Never mind, geez. Let's get out of here and get this done. I don't have all the time in the world to be wasting on this mission."

She felt Minato's eyes on her for awhile longer as she began to walk towards the front gate, and seconds later he fell in beside her. They walked silently for awhile. The front gates closed as they left, and Minato waved a goodbye to the gate guards. They climbed their way up a huge hill and once they started going down the other side, Konoha disappeared from view. Kushina wondered for a moment whether that was the last time she'd ever see it. She often wondered that before she went on a mission these days. Nearly all of the lands outside of Konoha's territory were dangerous.

As much as she tried not to, she couldn't help but think about that mob of girls that had been frantically searching for Minato. There were so many of them...and the one she had run into...had been so _desperate_ to find him. Did he know any of those girls? How many of them had he slept with? Why were they so obsessed with him? She stole a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. _He's not THAT attractive..._

All these questions flooded around in her head, but one floated above all the rest. Why didn't guys go after her like that? Sure, she usually got asked out a few times a month by various males around the village, but she sure as hell never had a mob running around trying to win her love. Was this just another demonstration of Minato's dominance over her in every aspect of life? _...what the hell? What am I thinking? His dominance? Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"What was that? Did you say something?" Minato asked, looking at her.

_Oh my god in heaven, I was talking out loud..._

"Stupid...er, I mean...NO! You must be hearing things." Kushina stammered, her face going red as a tomato.

"But...I could have sworn you were just talking to yourself."

"I wasn't."

Minato looked at her for a minute. She just kept looking ahead as she walked, totally ignoring his stare. The color started to drain from her face, but she still felt humiliated on the inside. _Shit...shit! He probably thinks i'm batshit crazy now._

"Let's stop for some lunch."


	3. Smores and Smiles

After lunch, the rest of the day had been pretty uneventful, and as Kushina lay down in her sleeping bag to finally end the day, she felt Minato's chakra approaching through the woods. He strolled into the clearing, carefully watching the woods around them. She watched him as he walked to the middle of the clearing, just feet away from where she lay curled up in her bag. She couldn't help but notice how he moved…..like a leopard, gracefully and precise. She looked away quickly, her cheeks getting red. She turned over in the opposite direction, facing out towards the edge of camp. _Ugh….pull yourself together Kushina._

"Hey Kushina….I'm about to make some smores. Care to join me?"

At the mention of such a delicious treat, Kushina's head poked up before she could stop it. She intended to just act like she was asleep and ignore him completely, but she had no idea he was about to make smores. Grudgingly….she turned over and sat up.

"Sure…whatever."

She stood up and walked over to where Minato had started a small flame in the middle of the campsite. He was on his hands and knees, blowing at the bottom of the fire to get it going.

"Hmph…you call THAT a fire? Come on Namikaze. That flame could barely light a fucking candle." She said as he blew gently on the flame.

"Be patient. These things take time." Minato said as he took a deep breath.

"Hurry up or I'm going back to bed." Kushina folded her arms over her breasts and tried to look as impatient as possible.

Finally, the fire was built up to a pretty respectable level. Minato went into the woods for a moment to gather more firewood, leaving Kushina in the campsite. She lay back, letting the fire warm her legs and looking up at the starry sky. Tomorrow they'd probably reach their destination and finally begin the mission. It was definitely a dangerous one…easily one of the most dangerous she'd ever done…but if what Minato said was true, they wouldn't be alone on this one. They'd have plenty of people to help them. Even so…she couldn't shake the strange feeling in her gut. _Butterflies? I always get them before a mission…but these are different. I just feel like something bad's going to happen. I've felt this way ever since Namikaze gave the mission briefing._

Minato returned to the clearing with his arms full of firewood, which he set next to the little fire. He then went into his backpack and pulled out all the ingredients they would need to make smores; graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hersheys chocolate. All of a sudden, the whole situation struck Kushina as completely ridiculous. She had never even thought about making smores on a mission before.

"What the hell are you doing with all that shit out here anyway?" She asked. Minato just smiled at her and handed her a graham cracker.

"I do it with my Genin team all the time. It really relieves stress before a mission. I take them on camping trips sometimes, and even though Obito and Kakashi always fight, it's still a lot of fun."

"You have a team of Genin?" Kushina asked, suddenly curious. _He already fucking has one?_

"Yeah…I've had them for a little over a year now. The Third hasn't given you one yet?" Minato asked, looking at her while holding his marshmallow on a stick firmly over the flames.

"No….well….I could have had one….I just told him I didn't want one. Who wants to babysit a bunch of snot nosed kids all day anyway? I got better things to do."

She hoped he believed it. The Third had never requested her to take on trainees. When a Jonin got skilled enough, they were given a team of Genin to train and develop just as they had been when they were Genin. Kushina wasn't at that level yet…but she would never let Minato know that….unless he already knew of course. She looked up in shock when she realized he was laughing.

"Hey! What's so funny?!" She said, ready to verbally lash him if need be.

Minato contained himself and looked at her with an amused smile. "I was just thinking how funny it would be if you did have a Genin team. They'd be so afraid of your temper that they'd never step out of line." He said chuckling. Kushina did have to admit it was funny...and definitely true. She had to keep from laughing herself.

"Wow….that's a first." She heard him say as if he were talking to himself.

"What's a first?" She blurted out.

"You're smiling. That's the first time I've seen you smile in…..well…..I can't even remember." Minato said, scratching his head.

"Well….rest assured Namikaze, it's nothing YOU said. And it's not like we hang out….EVER. So even if I did smile a lot, you wouldn't even know." She said, lying to him again. _Now I can't even control my own face. I'm hopeless._

"You should smile more….it looks good on you." Minato said, casually taking a bite of some graham cracker.

Kushina's face got super-hot….and it wasn't from the fire. Luckily, the sun had fallen behind the trees some time ago so she doubted Minato noticed the major case of tomato-face she was afflicted with at the moment. _I wish I could clone myself….so I could find myself and punch myself in the fucking face. _Then maybe her face would be bloody instead of blushing.

Kushina wasted no time in devouring her smores. She could feel Minato's eyes on her the entire time. His own finished product was held halfway to his mouth, as if he was going in for a bite and suddenly became transfixed on something. After she finished chewing she looked at him and he was still staring.

"…..what the hell are you looking at?"

"Oh…I…well I couldn't help but notice that you eat like a wild animal." He said, as if he were discussing the weather or something just as casual.

Kushina processed the comment, stored it away, and produced a response, which took all of five seconds. "Namikaze….if you ever compare me to a wild animal in any aspect of life ever again…I will not hesitate to give you the worst ass kicking you have ever received in your life." Minato's eyebrows raised instantly.

"OK then….I'll put that on my list of things-not-to-say-to-Kushina-Uzumaki which is taking up practically half of my notebook and we've only been on this mission for like a day. I'll put it right underneath where it says "I like your smile.""

Once Minato's statement finally kicked in….Kushina tried, and failed miserably, to hide the red tint to her cheeks. _Why do I have to be so pale skinned? WHY? _She just kept her head down and chewed away the rest of her food, angry at herself, Minato, and just the world in general.


	4. Lonely Night

Kushina dreams were full of fire and death that night, as they often were. Except this time, instead of waking up violently, covered in cold sweat, she was gently nudged awake by Minato, whose girly face and spiky hair was illuminated by the full moon behind him.

"Kushina….are you alright? You were crying out in your sleep."

She sat up groggily, peering about the makeshift camp they had made hours before. Her dream started to come rushing back to her, but she pushed it away, and all the thoughts it brought with it. She had had it so many times before that it was almost like a weekly routine.

"Was it a nightmare?"

"Get out of my face and go to sleep. I'll pull guard until morning." She said in as gruff a voice as she could manage.

"Suit yourself. Make sure to wake me up if something happens though." Minato said, standing up and walking towards his bedroll. As he slipped into his sleeping bag, Kushina felt him staring at her as she put her shoes on. "Are you sure you're OK? You were yelling pretty loudly."

"YES!" She replied, a lot louder than she had intended to. "I…I'm fine. It was nothing….just a bad dream."

Minato's breathing pattern soon revealed that he had fallen asleep….but she could already tell he wasn't like most men. There was a part of him still awake, still on guard, ready to fight at a moment's notice. _That's more than I can say. I hit the pillow and I'm out like a light._

She stood looking into the forest for about an hour, hands in her pockets to guard against the chill of the night, and her hood up. Her mind went in a dozen different directions, as it usually did due to her ADHD. She couldn't stop thinking about what awaited her and Minato on this mission. She looked over at his sleeping mass, wrapped up in his sleeping bag.

Sometimes she would think about him fighting, or training, or talking at the Hokage's meetings. Except….she would replace his face with her own, or imagine moving and fighting in the same way. It was nights like this, when she was alone and no one could see the stupid look on her face, that she could acknowledge to herself how jealous she had always been of him.

That way, she could hide the adoration in her eyes and put a scowl on her face instead. That had always been the way she dealt with the world….with a scowl.

Before she knew it, she was reminiscing about the Chuunin Exams, the first time she had gone. Minato had carried her out of the arena. She had been completely out of chakra and so exhausted she couldn't even stand and he had picked her up like a ragdoll and cradled her like a child. She remembered looking into his deep blue eyes, seeing the way his hair shone yellow in the sun, and wondering if she'd ever be able to fight like he did. He had been so _fast._

A few days she had woken up in her room fully recovered, and went out into the kitchen to find her caretaker, the Third Hokage himself, making dinner. She had cried then, longer and harder than she dared to in front of anyone else, and asked the Third if he could teach her to fight like Minato. He had smiled and ruffled her hair.

"You should fight with the heart of a lion, and never give up. In other words….fight like Kushina Uzumaki."

Back in the present, she was still staring at Minato's bedroll, at the way his chest rose and fell slowly. _And here we are…..ten years later and he'd still beat me._

But he _liked _her smile? Was he making a pass at her earlier? _The idiot's probably in love with me or something. If that's the case he needs to get his head evaluated, or reassess his taste in women._

She chuckled at the thought of anyone having any sort of feelings for her. Uchiha had just wanted to bed her when he asked her out after that meeting, just to brag to his friends. No man in Konoha would want to deal with the Hot Red-Headed Habanero, least of all the Yellow Flash, who had mobs of women dying to even speak to him.

_I don't think anyone else can make me feel so fucking inadequate, anyway. _She told herself, not for the first time, that she would make a shitty girlfriend.

As the hours dwindled away and the light started to creep back into the world, Kushina's last private thoughts before she shook Minato awake were about the dream…..the dream she couldn't stop dreaming.

Minato poked his head out of his sleeping bag; his hair actually messed up for once, looking completely out of it.

"Did anything happen while I was asleep?" He asked as he rolled his sleeping bag up and secured it on his backpack.

"Actually, yeah. A bunch of Mist ninja came and rubbed their balls all over your face."

"And you just let that happen?"

"Yeah, I figured you were into shit like that. You always looked like you'd be into dudes." She said matter-of-factly, trying to contain the smile that threatened to paint her face.

"You don't think I like women?" Minato asked as he munched on a leftover graham cracker.

"I'm going to guess….probably not. I've never even seen you with a girl."

"I've never seen YOU with a guy!" Minato shot out, spreading his hands in exasperation.

"Because….I've never BEEN with a guy, moron. I'd rather sit at the front gate and beg for yen then go on a date with ANYONE in Konoha." That was a lie….but she was convinced that it sounded convincing.

"You should've gone out with Fugaku. I always see him looking at you. He thinks you're really pretty." Minato said, looking at her for an extra second to see her reaction.

"If you're trying to get kicked in the face Namikaze, you're on the right track."

They started walking again, their breath misting in front of them from the morning chill. The sun faintly shone through the trees and made the forest quite beautiful, in Kushina's opinion. She appreciated things like nature. The birds chirping always made her smile in the morning, but she refrained from doing so this time to avoid unwanted comments from Minato.

"I wasn't joking earlier, you know."

Kushina was so busy admiring the forest around her and listening to the sounds of nature to hear him correctly the first time.

"Huh? What are you blabbering about?"

"About your smile. Fugaku saw you smile one time…and it was all he talked about the entire day. He just has a hard time expressing his feelings."

"Maybe because he has the social intelligence of a fucking hamster."

Minato's laughter caused Kushina to look at him in surprise, and when she really thought about what she had said, she started laughing too. They laughed as they walked, and it died soon after, leaving the trace of a smile on both of their faces. Kushina felt Minato's eyes linger on her a moment too long after the laughter ended, and she cut her eyes at him quickly. She got a good look at his face.

He was blushing. The Yellow Flash was blushing.

_What the fuck._

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><p><em><strong>Hey, apergis here. Thanks to those that still read this story. I'm sorry I've been so slow about updating. I was actually on hiatus for awhile. Now that the story's going I'll be updating much more frequently, and look forward to any reviews you guys feel like writing<strong>. (Please fucking review, I will love you forever)_

_**The next chapter is from Minato's point of view, so we'll get to see his side of things. As you can tell from this chapter it'll be pretty...interesting. Thanks everyone and hope the Holidays are treating you well.**  
><em>


	5. Sticky Situations

Minato was no stranger to sticky situations. He had been in so many of them in his time as a shinobi that he could remain reasonably calm even under extreme duress. But certain words had rushed out of the Third Hokage's mouth, in that gravelly voice full of wisdom, which threatened to shatter the mental fortress Minato had managed to build up after many years of getting himself out of sticky situations.

"Your partner for this mission will be Kushina. She's a bit….." And the rest of whatever the Hokage said went unheard because Minato's mind instantly started racing.

Kushina Uzumaki. Very beautiful, skilled, and…..easily one of the most unpleasant people that Minato could think of to be with for an extended period of time. _It doesn't help that I've had a crush on her since we were kids. _The fact that her physical attraction had only increased greatly since that time period had not done much to make that go away.

"Is there a problem?" The Hokage had asked, looking mildly concerned.

"No, none at all, Lord Hokage. I look forward to working with Uzumaki….she seems like a very capable shinobi." Minato replied, despite the fact that he had been completely ignoring the Third for the last minute. "I only have one question."

"Ask away."

"Why does she look so pissed off all the time?"

"…"

And now here he was, two days into a mission with a partner that he was convinced was anti-social, bi-polar, and extremely awkward. Or maybe he was just being awkward. Either way, it was turning out to be a lot to handle. It also didn't help that he was extremely attracted to her.

Even now, as the morning sun was coming over the trees and they walked side by side, he had to resist the urge to reach out and stroke her beautiful red hair. That was what mystified him most of all. He had been in love with that red hair since the day she had moved to Konoha and enrolled in the Academy with him, and always secretly loathed all the kids who had made fun of her for it.

But that was before she…grew up. In Minato's opinion, she had blossomed far above any of their other female classmates. Jiraiya had even pointed out at one point how beautiful she was….followed by the suggestion that Minato should "get up in that." She had _curves, _and a slender, athletic figure that he had to force himself not to look at.

Which was proving extremely difficult on this mission.

Even that morning, his composure had almost been ruffled by this woman. It was her smile….her fucking smile. Every time it crossed her face, which was amazingly rare, he couldn't help but imagine himself leaning in and kissing her, their smiles still on their lips, and her giggling…

"UGH!" The brutish, angry noise that came out of Kushina thrust him back to reality.

"Huh?" He asked, still half-wrapped up in his thoughts.

"FUCKING BUGS! I fucking hate them! They're everywhere!" She said, waving her arms around her as winged insects flew in and out of the barrage.

"You didn't bring any repellent?" He asked, waving a few bugs away from himself.

"No you ding-dong…or else I'd be wearing it right now!"

He grabbed his bug repellent out of the back pocket of his pants and handed it to her. She handed it back moments later, and her bug problem was solved. He looked at her and smiled. As usual, she scowled back over at him.

"What are you so happy about, flake?"

"Just glad I could help take care of the bug problem."

"Whatever…..thanks…."

Minato kept walking, still smiling. _She didn't say it very loud…but at least she said it._

A hill came up before them, and Minato knew when they crested the hill that they'd be able to see the village they were destined for. Lord Hokage had said that the village elders and a few of their shinobi would meet them at bottom of the other side of the hill.

"The village is right over this hill, so be ready for anything."

"Aren't they supposed to be under siege right now? There's no sound of battle…..no smoke….kind of makes you wonder." Kushina said, searching the sky for smoke.

"Yeah….good point."

"Minato…..I…..need to tell you something."

Minato looked at her in surprise. He had never heard Kushina use this tone before. Granted…they had never really interacted extensively before this mission, but still.

"What's up?"

"This mission….I've had a bad feeling about it since we left Konoha."

"I think I know what you mean." Minato said, looking around warily.

"You mean you've been feeling the same way?"

Minato was about to answer her when out of the corner of his eye he saw a massive shuriken coming straight for them. With one smooth motion he launched himself into Kushina, grabbed her, jumped, and took the brunt impact of the ground at least ten feet away with Kushina on top of him.

Minato wasted no time in raising his head and scanning the surrounding woods. Meanwhile, Kushina was gathering her wits and trying her best to disentangle herself from him. He spotted the large shuriken buried in a tree right where they had stood seconds before. _I just have to found out where it came from._

Then everything just started happening really fast.

The shuriken exploded and shards flew everywhere. He heard Kushina yell in pain, but before he could turn to her, there were three men in his way. They ran at Minato, fanning out and attacking from numerous directions. He flowed through them like water, breaking an arm, collapsing another's throat, and using the third man's own kunai to slice his jugular.

The man whose arm he had broken started coming at him again only to have Kushina full out kick him in the face.

"Fuck yeah! Take that!"

The other two were dying noisily, so Minato grabbed a kunai out of his holster and finished them, finally getting a good look at who had just attacked them.

"Iwagakure. These men are from Iwagakure." Kushina said breathlessly.

Minato, against his better judgment, didn't really care what village they were from. He was concerned about one thing.

"Kushina….are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine I just….AGH!"

He turned to see Kushina crouching on the ground, and noticed part of her Jonin vest was soaked through with blood on her left side. His heart skipped a beat.

"That fucking….exploding shuriken. Damn, this shit hurts."

He crouched beside her and watched as she lifted her shirt and her vest with it. The gash in her left side was oozing blood and a piece of shrapnel was just barely sticking out. They looked at the wound, then at each other. There was fire in her eyes. _She's not even afraid._

"We need to take care of this." He said, taking out his first aid kit and rummaging through the small container. "We'll probably need stitches…it'll be painful, and time consuming. We'll have to delay the mission."

"The Rock nin….they shouldn't be on this side of the village. If it's right over the hill like you say then that means…." Kushina began

"They've already taken the village." Minato finished for her.

"Exactly….and there are others heading this way. I can feel them."

"I can too." Minato said, pressing his index finger to the ground and extending his chakra out all around them. _There's about twenty._

He stood up, took a deep breath, and grabbed a kunai out of his holster. He felt Kushina watching him with bated breath as he took a piece of parchment out of a pouch on his waist and wrapped it around the kunai.

"Namikaze….you might have been able to handle these three but there's too many this time. You…..you have to leave me here." Kushina said, as Minato did the same with a few other kunai.

"That's not an option."

"It's the ONLY option. You'll die if you stay! One of us has to get back to the village and warn them!" Kushina said, her voice carrying hints of fear disguised by her anger. "You have to go NOW! GO NAMIKAZE!"

She was screaming at him now, but Minato let it pass right over him. _She doesn't understand._ He withdrew inside himself, found the ultimate source of his focus, and let it wash over him. He closed his eyes and let his chakra flow through him, feeling the power emanate through his body. Somewhere far away he could hear Kushina screaming at him, his heightened senses detecting the fear in her voice completely.

Minato could hear the birds chirping in the trees above, jumping from branch to branch. He could feel the soft breeze on his face, hear the buzz of insects in the surrounding woods, and the footsteps of the men who were encroaching their position. He opened his eyes and Kushina was just staring at him in disbelief.

He wondered for a moment if what he was feeling was love.

"Minato….what are you…." He snatched her up as if she was no more than a child, and they disappeared.

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><p><em><strong>Merry Christmas everyone! Been working on this chapter for a few days and wasn't sure how you guys would like it...but there it is.<strong>_

_**Thanks to all who reviewed last time and of course you lurkers out there, I still love you even if you don't drop a line. I really encourage reviews even if it's they're critical about my writing because I'm always looking to improve.**_

**_Anyway, next chapter is going to be from Kushina's POV. Catch ya later!_**


	6. The Best Dancer

Kushina was practically laying in her own vomit. The piece of shrapnel she had removed sat on the ground next to her, and her wound was a little over halfway stitched up.

The moment that sewing needle had touched the extremely painful wound, she had started barfing everywhere and before she knew it she was throwing up uncontrollably. _Pathetic. I'm absolutely pathetic._

And Minato. He had grabbed her like a sack of potatoes and then all of sudden they were….in the middle of the road about a mile down the path. _What the hell was that technique? A Body Flicker?_

No, it definitely wasn't a Body Flicker jutsu. She was in the process of trying to piece together exactly what in the fuck she had witnessed when she realized she was bleeding out, and her wound wasn't sewn up yet. She gritted her teeth as she ran the sewing needle back and forth between her skin, closing the wound and tying it off as quickly as possible. If she had waited any longer, blood loss would have made the entire sewing process a lot more difficult.

She dressed the wound and bandaged it, using the sticky parts of the bandage to stick to her exposed skin. She stood cautiously, careful not to break the wound open again. Her head start swimming slightly and she resisted the urge to dry heave. _Lost a few more pints than I thought._

Her thoughts went to Minato, and where the hell he possibly could have gone. _He's probably getting killed right now. I should head back to Konoha…and warn everyone. _The going would be very slow with her wound, but she still had her supplies and once she was away from Iwagakure territory she'd be home free.

Her head was telling her to return to Konoha, but her heart was saying something different entirely. _Minato put his life down for mine….he's sacrificing himself so I can live. So I can go on living my useless, pathetic life, wanting to be…..__**him.**_

"Brave idiot." She said, wanting to spit but finding her mouth was completely dry.

Minato Namikaze was certainly brave. And amazing. And intelligent. And handsome, more than anyone has any right to be in Kushina's opinion. She shook away those thoughts….those dangerous thoughts. Those were things she dared not to think about, for fear of the directions her mind would go in. Instead, she told herself that without Minato Namikaze in her life, there would be no one to direct her hate at. Yeah, that was it. She loved to hate him. She had been doing it from a distance for years. _Fuck, I really hope he's not dead._

She supposed there was only one way to find out. She took one look down the path back to Konoha, and then started walking the opposite way. As she walked, she began to hear the familiar sounds of battle and knew she was getting closer.

She remembered when Hokage-sama had said that Minato was the bravest shinobi he had ever seen. That was two years ago, and Kushina insides had practically burnt up with jealousy.

_I'll show this pretty boy idiot that Kushina Uzumaki can handle her own._

Now, besides the wound in her side, she wasn't sure what that burning feeling inside of her meant.

* * *

><p>Minato looked down at the five sealed kunai in his hand...and decided they'd have to be enough.<p>

He looked up from the kunai and saw that he was completely surrounded. There were thirteen on the ground, and eight in the trees around him. The Rock shinobi circled him and jumped around in the trees around him, leering and taunting him. He just stood there, waiting for one of them to make a move.

"Looks like we got ourselves a Leaf ninja boys."

"We're gonna cut you into fucking pieces."

"You're in the wrong part of town, blondie."

One of them hushed the others.

"Wait a minute guys...isn't he the Yellow...AGH!"

Minato threw the kunai so fast the man didn't even have time to react before it was sunk in his windpipe. The other four kunai left his hands just as fast, and then he was flickering through his opponents, teleporting towards them, grabbing his kunai, jumping away, slashing here, blocking there, his mind working so fast that it threatened to leave his body behind.

Battle was a dance, and no one knew the steps better than he did.

Seconds passed that felt like hours, and the only remaining Rock shinobi stumbled as he tried to run from the massacre.

"No! Stay away from me! Stay away, you fucking demon!"

Minato caught the man, and threw him to the ground savagely. He thought about how he must look to this man, covered in blood, drunk on battle, and having previously just massacred twenty of his comrades.

"Go back to your village. Tell your Kage that the Yellow Flash is out there. Tell him that unless he negotiates peace with the Leaf..." Minato motioned to the bodies lying all around them, some still shaking and moaning through their last breaths. "This will happen to more of his people."

The enemy ninja stumbled to his feet, looking at Minato in disbelief. He still couldn't get over the fact that he was being let go.

"GO! Before I change my mind!"

The man ran off without looking back, and Minato was alone with the sounds of the dying all around him._  
><em>

All of a sudden he heard someone come up from behind him. He spun, his kunai gripped tightly in his hand...

And saw Kushina standing there, her mouth hanging open.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I was feeling inspired and literally wrote this not even 30 minutes ago. I was originally going to make everyone wait a few days to see what happens but I didn't want to risk having writer's block set in so I whipped this up real fast.<strong>_

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, which has been out for like two hours, so that's actually only one person hahahaha. (thanks GirlwithNoIQ :)**_

_**I'm sure I'll get more reviews on it but just so you know I'm sending out extra holiday cheer to anyone who takes the time to let me know what they think...and everlasting love...and cookies, among other things.**_


	7. Mother

Not many things scared Kushina Uzumaki. She had seen war, had fought in battles, and had even seen entire villages destroyed before her eyes, but...

The look in Minato's eyes as he spun with his kunai in hand sent a tremor of fear through her.

When he noticed it was her, she saw the tension leave him visibly, and the kunai dropped from his hand. He looked around suddenly, as if seeing all the men he killed around him for the first time. She looked for the word to describe his expression…and settled on _grim. _He looked at her again, but the icy look in his eyes had left.

"You came back….even when I told you to go back to the village." He said, somehow sounding angry and surprised at the same time.

Kushina had been speechless very few times in her life…and this was one of them. She just looked at Minato…and the bodies around him, and tried to get her brain working again. Half of her brain was thinking up a sarcastic, witty response to what he just said, and the other half was wondering how what he just did was even possible. _He killed them….in SECONDS._

"I…you...HOW?" Was all she managed to get out.

"I'll explain later. How are you feeling? Did you take care of the cut?"

Thoughts of her wound immediately brought her back to reality, clearing her mind of all the questions she had about what had just happened. She started to realize that she really did feel like shit. She had lost a good amount of blood, and had so much adrenaline jogging back here that she didn't even realize it.

"I can still fight."

"No…you can't. You've lost too much blood. Your skin is…"

"So you're a fucking doctor now? I say we go on to the village see if they left anyone alive. That's our number one priority!"

Just as the words left her mouth, her head started swimming again and the wound in her side flared up with pain. She tried to fight it, but the harder she fought the dizzier she became. Before she knew it, she felt the ground rush up to meet her. Her vision got hazy but she realized she was lying on her back, and she saw Minato's face swimming over her.

"Shit! Hang in there, Kushina! I'm gonna get you out of here."

"The mission…the village…" Her side was on fire, and talking only made the agony worse. Her head started pounding so hard she felt like it would burst out of her skull at any second.

"Some kind of…..poison?" She heard Minato say faintly.

She held onto her consciousness, did all she could not to slip into the void that called to her. She thought about how weak she must look. She felt herself being lifted, now only half conscious. The darkness enveloped her.

She floated….with no concept of time or space. Then…she started to remember.

Faces came flooding back to her. Old friends. Past enemies she had fought and killed.

The family she had lost. _No….that hurt is still too fresh. _And it always would be.

Her eyes opened, her senses returned to her, and the faces of those from her past were flung away as her mind became aware of her surroundings. She was standing, although it took her awhile to realize it. Candles burned all around her, and gave the room a strong, flavorful odor. The lights were dim to the point that it took her a moment to realize where she was. _This is…the fire temple in Konoha._

This was where she had found out she could never return to her village, that it had been wiped out and her entire family had been killed in the process. She had been so young then…

Movement attracted her eye. A figure, hooded and cloaked, walked among the rows of candles, burning silently on the wooden tables.

"Who goes there? Minato?" Her voice echoed throughout the large prayer room.

"I am not the Yellow Flash, Kushina." A hand, pale and slim, reached up and pulled back the hood. "Have you forgotten me?"

Kushina's breath caught in her throat. _How can I forget someone I never knew? _Butthe words would not come to her lips no matter how hard she tried to form them. She _did _know her….but it had been so long…

"Have you forgotten your father too? And your brother?"

Her eyes were violet, and her red hair fell to her shoulders. Kushina could not tell how old she was, with the lighting in the room being so poor.

"Who are you?" Kushina asked, although she already knew the answer.

"The real question is….who are you?"

"This is a dream."

"You still haven't answered my question, Kushina."

"I don't need to because you're not real."

The woman smiled sadly. "Look at your left side, child."

Kushina looked down and saw that her vest on the left side was soaked through with blood. _How….?_

She looked back up to the woman, who had moved closer. The light from the candles illuminated her face…and Kushina felt like she was looking into a mirror, although the other woman was older. _I was right…it's…._

"Mother?" She breathed, her heart clenching.

The other woman smiled and pulled her in gently for a hug.

"I've missed you child. You've become so beautiful. You have your father's eyes."

"Is this real?" Kushina asked. Oh…how she wished it was. She wished she could stay like this forever, in her mother's arms. "I see your face every night in my dreams. You and father…and brother too. But when I wake up, they are lost to me."

"We all dream of things we cannot have. Your father dreamt of you and your brother growing up and becoming brave and powerful shinobi, who brought honor to the village. It looks like one of his dreams came true."

Kushina ignored the wet, hot tears that were rolling down her cheeks, but stepped back from her mother's arms and shook her head.

"I am not strong, mother. I'll never become Hokage….I'll never fulfill my dream. I'll never…."

"Be the Yellow Flash?" Her mother finished for her.

Kushina was silent for a few moments, her mind conflicting with itself. _This is my mother…I can tell her anything._

"Yes." She said quietly.

"No…you will not. But…you are **Kushina**. I have watched you grow to become the woman you are. You are so full of anger over what you cannot change. You live in the shadow of this man, let the mere thought of him confuse and hurt you. You curse, and scowl, and drive other's away because you are afraid to let anyone close to you." Her mother's hand reached up to stroke her cheek lovingly. "But you are my child, and I know your heart better than anyone. Let your heart speak to you, and follow its wishes whenever possible."

"I am a shinobi." Kushina told her. "Mother...I cannot love. Fighting is what I am made for."

A single tear fell down her mother's cheek. She pulled up her hood and began to walk away. Every fiber of Kushina's being wanted to cry out _don't leave me_, but she already knew...

She had been left long ago.

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><p><strong>Hey everyone, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I just really wanted to write a scene with Kushina and her mother, and make it turn out bittersweet. Hopefully it ended up well...although I'll let you guys judge.<strong>

**Much love to everyone who's reviewed so far and I encourage anyone who has questions to just PM me or ask them in the review. Please keep reviewing and THANK YOU for taking the time to appreciate my work.**

**Love you guys.**


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